325 Migrants Apprehended in Single Group at Arizona Border

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended a group of 325 Central American migrants after they illegally crossed into Arizona Thursday near Lukeville.

Agents assigned to the Ajo Station came upon a large group of migrants who illegally crossed west of the Lukeville port of entry, according to Tucson Sector Border Patrol officials. The group consisted of 325 migrants from Central America.

Border Patrol camera surveillance of the area detected a possible campfire and dispatched a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) aircrew to the area. The aircrew spotted the group and directed ground-based Border Patrol agents to the scene.

The area where the migrant group crossed is protected only by vehicle barriers. There is no physical barrier to pedestrian crossings in this part of the border that is being exploited by human smugglers and large migrant groups from Central America.

The agents found the group huddled around a campfire during the freezing weather conditions of Thursday morning. Leaders of the group admitted they crossed the border illegally after being dropped off by multiple buses on Mexico’s Federal Highway 2 that runs parallel to the U.S. border.